Nesaria
Nesaria Note: Not to be confused with Nesarian Empire. Nesaria is a country within the Nesarian Empire, and considered the "capital country" of the Empire (it also shares its capital, Capitalia, with the Empire). It is the only country in the Empire which the Emperor is the head of state of, although the Emperor has held little political power in the country since the Bloodless Revolution - parliament holds the real power in Nesaria. It is the only country within the Empire that has an uncodified constitution. Its state religion is Elveta. Its national animal is the Rexada. The Kingdom of Capitalia, which would become the Nesarian Empire, was founded in 600BC. This means that the Capitalian/Nesarian civilisation has existed continuously for at least 1418 years, and it has remained independent for all but 11 of those years (see War Against the Xaenis). Nesaria has approximately 25,000,000 citizens, making it the most populous country in the Empire. 85.17% of these citizens are native-born, 8.1% are migrants from other countries in the Empire, and 6.73% are migrants from other countries outside of the Empire. The largest immigrant group is the Russians, who began flooding in after Russian and Nesarian relations became good when the Sovet Union fell. They overtook the Italians, who had previously been the largest non-Empire migrant group. Nesaria holds many different cultures and races. It is the only known home of the Dwarves, and is one of the two homes of the Orcs. Eshérians are descended from Elves, but have not been truly Elvish for centuries. Fossilised remains prove that Dragons also once roamed Nesaria, but for an unknown reason they died out or left. Nesarian is the primary language spoken in Nesaria. Other regional and official languages are usually second languages of Nesarian speakers. Even the Mortian Orcs will generally learn Nesarian before they learn Mortian. The Nesarian people also exist in Crataeteo (colonies) in other countries within the Empire, and have a limited presence in the part of Russia once owned by the Nesarian Empire. However, the Nesarians in Crataeteo within Russia were mostly expelled or killed in the Nesarian Genocide. Duchies Nesaria consists of nine Duchies (also known as shires), which are as follows: * Capitalia * Wallshire * Mountaingate * Infrishire * Cortathshire * Eshérshire * Dongrishire * Zatholshire * Mortia Geography Nesaria is contained entirely within a deep basin which is believed to be an ancient dried-up lake. The very high and sheer cliffs which create the walls of the basin - known as the Great Cliffs - cut off Nesaria from the rest of the world until the Great Ramp was finished in 15BC. The Great Ramp is the only way in and out of Nesaria by land, and in 1844 a railway was constructed going up and down the ramp, connecting to the rail network in Estemoria. The region immediately surrounding Nesaria is harsh desert, however all of Nesaria is temperate, with the south being warmer (with the exception of Winter Island). * Capitalia: Capitalia is a large flat expanse of grassland which is, in the modern day, heavily urbanised. The Capitalian Mountains separate Capitalia from Infrishire, to the east, as well as Mountaingate, to the south-east, and the ancient Great Wall separates Capitalia from Wallshire, to the south. It is quite hilly near the Capitalian Mountains and somewhat hilly to the far north. The western half of the region used to be lightly forested, but this was entirely cut down by about 114BC and replaced with farmland, and eventually the city of Capitalia. Capitalia is the most heavily and densely populated region of Nesaria. Capitalia also contains the Dwarven Halls, an underground complex which is home to the Dwarves. * Wallshire: Wallshire is almost entirely flat and borders Lake Jerumtine to the south, with white sandy beaches which are popular with tourists. Wallshire is fairly agrarian. It borders Capitalia to the north and Mountaingate to the east. * Mountaingate: Mountaingate is situated in a very hilly area in a stretch between the Capitalian and Mortian Mountains. It has a large mining industry, although this is declining as the mineral wealth in Mountaingate has almost run out. It borders Wallshire to the west, Infrishire to the east, Capitalia to the north-west and Mortia to the south. * Infrishire: About half of Infrishire is the Infrian Forest, a thick and very large forest, in which the very wealthy own secluded mansions. The rest of it is fairly urbanised. It is hilly towards the north and south (bordering the Great Cliffs and Mortian Mountains) but the rest of it is fairly flat. It borders Capitalia to the west, Mountaingate to the south-west, Mortia to the south and Cortathshire to the east. * Cortathshire: Cortathshire is the coldest mainland Duchy and the most hilly and mountainous. About a third of it is relatively flat, while the rest is highlands, getting progressively more mountainous with closer proximity to the Great Cliffs. Farming crops is impossible in this region, however sheep farming is very common, and in the less hilly regions, cattle farming is also common. White Deer have a significant presence in the highlands, and hunting them is a common hobby and source of food. The highlands of Cortathshire also have many small lakes and rivers. It borders Infrishire to the west, Mortia to the south-west, and Eshérshire to the south. * Eshérshire: Eshérshire used to be dominated by the Eshérian Marshes, however about half of the marshes were drained by 1970, and in 1972 the marshes were protected by law. This resulted in extremely flat topography, the flattest in Nesaria. Large crop farms are common, and with the exception of the capital city of Eshér, it is almost entirely agrarian. It borders Cortathshire to the north, Mortia to the west and Dongrishire to the south. * Dongrishire: Dongrishire is the warmest Duchy, and it is somewhat hilly in the north and flatter towards the south. In more or less the centre of the Duchy is Mount Dongris, a large volcano which creates fertile terrain on which the vines for the famous Dongrisian Wine is grown. The south-east corner, the hottest region, is fairly rocky and is used mainly to grow olives. The north is more urbanised whereas the south is very agrarian. It borders Eshérshire to the north, Mortia to the north-west, and Zatholshire to the west. * Zatholshire: Zatholshire's defining feature is the large Zathol River, which runs from several sources in the Mortian Mountains through Zatholshire and into Lake Jerumtine. The capital city, Zathol, sits upon either side of this river, with approximately half the city sitting on each side of the river, connected by bridges. Zatholshire itself is also split roughly in half by the river. The side north of the river is more urbanised, whereas the side south of the river is more agrarian. Zatholshire borders Lake Jerumtine, with stony and gravelly beaches. The waters near Zatholshire are good for fishing. It borders Mortia to the north and Dongrishire to the east. * Mortia: Mortia is the largest Duchy, but most of it is the Mortian Mountains in which nobody permanently lives. These Mountains separate the north of Nesaria from the South, bordering Lake Jerumtine and Eshérshire. They prevent land access from north to south except in Eshérshire, where the Mortian Mountains give way to the Ésherian Marshes. The region of Mortia itself is a grassy plain surrounded by tall mountains, and the only land route into this area is a thin snaky passage (which historically made Mortia very easy to defend). The centre of Mortia is dominated by the Orcish Citadel, which is in the centre of a fairly urbanised region (the city of Mortia). A ring of farmland surrounds the city of Mortia. The inhabited area of Mortia only borders Dongrishire, however with the Mortian Mountains included, Mortia borders every Duchy except Capitalia. * Winter Island: Winter Island is a very cold island in the south-east corner of Lake Jerumtine. It is surrounded by ice and has an erratic shape. It is snowy for most of the year except the height of summer, when tundra is revealed around the coastline (the inner part of the island is always frozen, however). Despite the extreme cold, Winter Island is home to many hardy bushes and small trees, as well as the Winter Beasts. The waters around Winter Island also make for good fishing. Winter Island has a very small permanent population, made up of Capitalian and Wallshirian colonists. Winter Island falls under the Duchy of Zatholshire. Nesarian Parliament The Nesarian Parliament consists of two chambers - the People's Assembly (lower house) and the Lord's Council (upper house). The executive power belongs to the People's Assembly. Both houses can submit bills to be considered by Parliament. Both houses must agree on a bill before it is passed into law. Only the People's Assembly can outright vote to reject bills, but if no agreement between the two houses is met within eight months, the bill is dropped. If the People's Assembly is trying to pass a bill which was explicitly mentioned in the ruling party's manifesto, the Lord's Council can only delay for up to a month before the bill is automatically passed. All bills must be approved by the Emperor before they can be passed into law, however in practice the Emperor agrees to pass all bills into law. The Prime Minister is elected and serves 5-year terms with no term limit. All people over 18 may vote. The People's Assembly consists of 304 elected MPs who represent a constituency. The Lord's Council consists currently of 400 Lords (the number is capped at 450) of which 90 are hereditary, 20 are religious and the rest are appointed. The Prime Minister can appoint up to 20 ministers each term, and the Emperor can appoint as many ministers as he likes. The Emperor also has the power to dismiss Lords, with the consent of the Imperial Council. The Emperor holds the right to dismantle the People's Assembly on the vaguely-worded condition that it is "in crisis". This would make the Nesarian government function in the same way as the Imperial Government, where the Lord's Council becomes the lower house and the Emperor becomes the upper house. The Emperor also holds the right to dissolve the elected government and hold a fresh election at any time. Nesarian Culture See also: Nesarian Cuisine There are several different cultures within Nesaria, which are as follows: * Capitalian culture is best thought of as an amalgamation between English, Roman and Greek culture. The Capitalian culture exists in Capitalia, Wallshire and Mountaingate. Capitalian culture has held cultural dominance over Nesaria for several centuries, especially in the north. * Northern culture is similar to Capitalian, but with less Roman and Greek influence, and more of an English and Scottish influence. The Northern culture exists in Infrishire and Cortathshire. The Infrian language has been completely lost, but the Cortathian language is spoken by about half of the population of Cortathshire, and it is taught in Cortathian schools as a second language. * Southern culture is akin to a mix between Greek, French and Italian culture with limited English influence. The Kingdom of Eshér used to be dominant in the south, which led to the spread of Eshérian culture, which eventually became Southern culture. Since Eshérians are descended from Elves, there are many similarities between Southern culture and Elvish culture, except the language (the Eshérian language has been completely lost). The Southern culture exists in Eshérshire, Dongrishire and Zatholshire. * Mortian culture has aspects of Germanic and Nordic cultures, but also English and Roman. Since defeat in the Human-Mortian War, Mortian culture has been heavily influenced by Southern culture, and was on the brink of being supplanted entirely by Southern culture until the Mortian Renaissance. The Mortian culture exists only in Mortia. One of the most significant remaining differences between the cultures is their traditional music: * Capitalian traditional music heavily features strings, the three most prominent instruments being the acoustic guitar, violin and harp. It usually has limited percussion. Its current form was established in the 17th century. * Northern traditional music heavily features wind instruments, the most prominent being the bagpipe and flute. It is also usually accompanied by snare drums and castanets. Its current form was also established in the 17th century. * Southern traditional music heavily features strings, but also the piano and drums. Its current form was established in the 18th century. * Mortian traditional music is a mixture between folk and classical music, utilising a full orchestra but also traditional folk instruments (especially the bagpipe), and drums usually have a strong presence. Its current form was established in the Mortian Renaissance. It is also worth noting that traditional Mortian music is still popular not only in Mortia but across the Empire, and modern Mortian artists have begun a trend of mixing traditional Mortian music with more modern genres to create hybrid genres. Metal and synthwave are the two most popular genres often mixed in with traditional Mortian music. All Nesarian cultures use the same military music, which is notable for its frequent use of bagpipes. In all Nesarian cultures it is also women who traditionally fulfil the role of musicians, howevever ever since the mid-1800s it has been common for both men and women to be musicians. Nesarian Religion The primary religion of Nesaria is Elveta, however Orthodox and Protestant Christianity are also common, with a small Catholic minority (mainly coming from Italian immigrants). Morrokhi is also followed by the Orcs. 60% of Nesaria is Elvetan, 18% is Orthodox, 6% is Morrokhian and 4% is Protestant. These are the religions that native Nesarians follow, however Catholicism (2%), Naturakhva (1.5%), Allisi (1%) and Kadinto (0.5%) came from immigrants. 7% of the population is non-religious. 60% of the Mortian Orcs follow Reformed Morrokhi, 22% follow Old Morrokhi, 12% are Orthodox and the remaining 6% is non-religious. Nesarian law is influenced by Elveta. Some crimes, which Elveta demands execution for, are punishable by death, and committing sacrilege is also punishable by death. The judges in religious courts are members of the Elvetan Priestly Order. The following religious crimes are punishable by execution: * Damaging a High Temple * Physically attacking the congregation at a High Temple * Physically attacking a member of the Elvetan Priestly Order * Pouring "inappropriate" things into a Limacava, such as urine or faeces * Cremating an Elvetan (cremating people of other religions is not punishable, however) * Desecrating a grave (applies to those of any religion, including those with no religion) Nesaria contains the largest Orthodox church in the Empire, which is the Camarelus Cathedral in south-west Capitalia. It also contains the largest Catholic church in the Empire, but this is because no other country in the Empire has Catholic churches. Nesarian Political Beliefs The people of Nesaria have varying political beliefs and there is no one clear ideology, however most Nesarians are highly nationalistic. Like all countries in the Empire, monarchism is also popular, and communism has a very small presence. Nesaria is generally traditionalist, and even the liberal Democratic Party would be considered somewhat socially conservative by most western countries. However, liberalism is rising in Nesaria, which many politicians and most of the royal family have denounced. Faltas VI, son of Crown Prince Athdus V, is especially outspoken against this, taking to twitter and instagram to complain about "western liberalism and degeneracy" permeating his country. Sports Nesaria has a national team for the following sports: * Football/Soccer * Calecuda * Cricket * Rugby * Ice Hockey Nesaria has a long tradition of being excellent at Football and Calecuda, however it has a reputation for consistently having subpar Cricket and Rugby teams. Miscellaneous Laws * Recreational Drug Law * Firearm Ownership Laws